Operation Battleaxe

Operation Battleaxe (15-17 June 1941) was the first battle fought by Nazi Germany on the defensive during World War II, taking place in North Africa. Archibald Wavell's British 8th Army attempted to drive Erwin Rommel's recently-arrived Afrika Korps from eastern Cyrenaica and to relieve the Siege of Tobruk, but the British offensive ground to a halt and was defeated. Afterwards, Claude Auchinleck replaced Wavell as commander of the British forces.

Background
In June 1940, Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy declared war on the Allied Powers, leading to the opening of a new front of World War II in North Africa between Italian Libya and Anglo-Egypt Sudan. In Operation Compass from December 1940-February 1941, the British 8th Army of Archibald Wavell crushed the Italian 10th Army and drove back an Italian invasion of Egypt. The British counterattacked and took Tobruk and much of Libya, so Mussolini asked Adolf Hitler for support from Nazi Germany. Hitler dispatched Erwin Rommel with the Afrika Korps to reinforce the Royal Italian Army in Libya, and Rommel proceeded to besiege Tobruk and advance into eastern Cyrenaica. Wavell decided to launch a counterattack as the German offensive picked up speed, and his 8th Army attacked Rommel's Afrika Korps in the next battle of the campaign, the first time that the Germans fought on the defensive against the Allies.

Battle
Following a Royal Air Force bombardment, British and Indian soldiers moved to capture Halfaya Pass and other strategically-important areas, moving without resistance. The defenders of Fort Capuzzo fled to join the 15th Panzer Division, and Rommel decided to organize a counterattack. The British and Germans engaged in battle at Halfaya Pass, and Rommel had his panzer units encircle the British and eliminate them. British armored losses were high, so Frank Messervy decided to withdraw the British troops to prevent them from suffering more losses. The British delayed the panzers until the infantry could escape, and the operation was an Axis victory.

Aftermath
Prime Minister Winston Churchill was angered by the failure of the operation, which he believed was going to be a success, so he sacked Wavell. Rather than make it appear as if he had just dismissed an important general, Churchill decided to have him switch duties with Claude Auchinleck, the commander-in-chief of British forces in India. Auchinleck became the new commander in North Africa, and he would take on Rommel in the successful Operation Crusader.